Andrew Smith's Blog

My name is Andrew. Come and have a look inside my life and watch me share what is on my heart.

Making Great Decisions: For a Life Without Limits By T.D. Jakes Book Review



Making Great Decisions is written to guide readers into realistic expectations towards your relationships and researching who they really truly are. People will always reveal and display their feelings through their thoughts, words, behaviors, and actions. Bishop Jakes is a firm believer in asking the important questions and then weighing the response we receive in our relationships. Often times we fail to ask our dating partners the right kind of questions, then we are shocked when later they share their own opinions and ideas in marriage. It’s critical that we must accept responsibility for where we are currently in life and not to easily shift the blame to our parents or our spouse. Blaming doesn’t help our relationships improve it only hinders our personal growth process. One of the essentials before we date is to deal with our own hurts, disappointments, regrets, and pain from past experiences and relationships. Freedom comes when we heal and let go of the need to justify and reimburse our deepest pain. It’s vital in realizing that the new relationship can’t fix the old relationship issues. Don’t take out your frustration on the people who didn’t cause the harm to you in the first place! Bishop Jakes described that many people are wearing emotional condoms to protect themselves from future hurts and disappointments. As we get older it tends to get harder and harder to fall in love again. This book provides the fundamental keys for entering dating, marriage, having children, career, buying a house, and many other helpful tools. This book also contained twenty questions to ask before you get engaged.



I would recommend this life enhancing relationship book to anyone thinking about dating and is planning on getting married someday. Marriage is an enormous commitment that many of us don’t take seriously enough. We are all longing to connect deeper to a partner but we forget to ask the significant questions before we say I do. I do have just become words without meaning and we are failing to grasp the impact of keeping our word! Sickness and in health, rich or poor actually means something who would have thought.



I especially loved the transparency Bishop Jakes showed throughout this book. He compared the woman in the Bible having ten coins and she lost one coin to people searching for their marriage partner. She kept looking for her lost coin until she found it. Bishop Jakes helped me to see that it is perfectly normal to be honest that I do want a relationship. Finding someone to date and marry is a risk but it’s worth taking. Part of discovering a marriage partner you want is to research and study your relationship.



I immensely enjoyed the twenty questions to ask before you get engaged. One of my favorite questions was, “What do you expect?” Many times I am expecting that my spouse will be just like me and be interested in the same type of things or hobbies that I take pleasure in. Meanwhile, she is expecting me to act a certain way and I usually don’t even know she was expecting. And she doesn’t know what I’m expecting! It can be complicating but as a marriage couple you have to learn to describe and communicate what each other is expecting in your relationship. Another question Bishop Jakes shared was, “What are your ideas about sexuality”? Before reading this book, I never would have even considered asking this type of question before engagement. I would have waiting until marriage then I would have encountered disappointment and my expectations would have caused great conflict. Sex is an aspect of a healthy marriage but it isn’t only the end goal. Marriage is much more than just sex and procreation.



This book had many features and imperative questions we must ask each other before we arrive at the altar to say I do. Though the questions presented in this book may be difficult at times to ask and answer, failing to have a discussion leads to confusion and conflict down the road in marriage. I am single and I have already decided that before I get engaged we will be going through these questions together as a couple. This book will strength your dating relationships and assist you in deeming who you will marry. Marriage and choosing who to spend the rest of your life with is a gigantic decision we can’t take lightly. We have to investigate our dating relationships and watch for the signs of who they truly are! Pay attention to the clues!! If you’re looking for a marriage partner, please read this book you will be blessed and forever changed and you will learn the skills and tools to succeed in marriage and other important decisions!

  

If you would like to purchase a copy of Making Great Decisions check it out on Amazon.com or Christian Book:
 




  

Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God the Impossible By Steven Furtick Book Review


Sun Stand Still is about obtaining and building an audacious faith and believing that God is able to do all things. When we have faith that God can still do the impossible in our lives we stop fearing and worrying about the unknown. Steven Furtick explained that he prayed bold prayers to God in believing that he would answer them. He prayed that he would lead many people to Christ and transformation would occur in their lives. He decided to move to North Carolina with seven other families. They started working towards building a church for Christ’s Kingdom. He eventually achieved one of his innumerable dreams and foundered Elevation Church, which now has over six thousand attendees every Sunday. This book is about planning a “Page 23 Vision” for your future destiny. It’s extremely imperative that you make up your mind, pray bold prayers, and be determined to focus on where you’re head and not on your past. Don’t disqualify and factor out the power of God’s ability. Some examples of Page 23 visions included were waiting until you’re married to have sex (that means no test driving before the wedding), staying away from alcohol and drugs, and not letting criticism defeat your purpose. You must have a vision that seems impossible where when it comes to pass you realize that God was always working behind the scenes. It’s not by our strength but it’s by the grace of God and his power that we are capable to complete and go after our dreams.


The concept of the book comes from the biblical story Joshua. After Moses died, Joshua was given the leadership position of leading the Israelites to the Promise Land. They encountered the Amorites and Joshua lead an attack to conquer and win the battle. The sun was about to go down and Joshua prayed that God would make the sun stand still where they could attain victory over the Amorites armies. God held the sun in place for an entire day and the Israelites defeated their enemies.  This book is an encouragement to believers to never doubt that God can perform miracles and answer impossible prayers.



One of my favorite quotes was:

“You will never know what it is like to experience God’s power in this way until you have the audacity to believe and pray and act in confidence that our God is a God of the impossible” (Page 77).

Steven Furtick shared a personally story that I thought added a great aspect to the book. He started out in college as believing that his dormitory roommates would be saved and become a follower of Christ. He was a college student who didn’t have much money. But he decided to be a blessing to his surrounding dormitory residents despite what he perceived he lacked. He gave God everything he had and brought food to share regularly with dormitory! He didn’t see any results for quite a while and no one was giving their whole life to Christ. But somehow God provided a way to for Steven to buy food to share when there seem to be no way. He didn’t have to turn anybody away. Slowly and over time some of the residents of the dormitory asked him to pray for them. But it still took time for some of them to finally decide that they wanted the love of God Steven had! He gave God what he could, prayed, and expected God to provide for the funds and salvation to be acquired throughout his dormitory. The lesson to take away from this is never give up and don’t settle and believe that there isn’t a way for your dreams and desires to come to pass. God is well able to conquer the impossible!



I would recommend this inspiring book to readers who doubt that God has an extraordinary purpose and a destiny for them to fulfill. The book will benefit readers into learning how to pray and asking God for big dreams to come to pass. We should all be praying for big bolder dreams that would take an act of God to complete. The dreams may be to restore a relationship, to go out on a date again, get married, conceive children, wayward children to return home, finish your college degree, healing, finances to prosper, salvation for people you know, careers, and any other desires of your heart you may have. This book had shown me that God loves me and cares about everything I pray about. PRAY BIG! Another important element that Steven pointed out was to remember to be specific in our prayers and not to remain in general. We have to not be afraid to ask for what we truly want. The book helped me to see that I was guilty in praying God, help me, but I see now that I can ask for bigger things! We couldn’t go to our best friend and ask help for assistance if we didn’t say what we needed help with.  Yes, God is all knowing but why don’t be just be real and state what we are going through and what our dreams are!  Most of the time we let fears control us and we struggle to believe and we doubt in our faith. We serve a God who can move that mountain and he is well able to help us! This book is an astonishing resource to help readers to pray, believe, and work towards achieving the dreams God has placed inside your heart!



“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.



If you would like to purchase a copy of Sun Stand Still check it out on Amazon.com or Christian Book:











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Inescapable: Road to Kingdom –Book One By Nancy Mehl Book Tour and Review










Inescapable is a remarkable storyline filled with lessons about making great decisions, forgiving and letting offences go, freedom to love freely again, and never believing and claiming that things can never change. I immediately connected with Lizzie and her intense emotions that she had to encounter and deal with. A stalker threatened to harm her and in order to protect her child, she had to flee. She had to return home to her father who degraded with harsh criticism and words as a child. The book does a wonderful job at presenting the importance of speaking life enhancing words to our children. They will remember all of the hurtful words and positive we spoke to them. The effects of belonging to a strong religion that doesn’t forgive past offenders who make mistakes and wrong choices are demonstrated in the town in this book. It took Lizzie a while to understand that God loved her unconditionally and His love isn’t like her father’s love. She had to learn to forgive and heal from the past wounds or she ran into the risk of repeating the damage to her daughter.



I enjoyed how Nancy Melh described the characters and plot in extremely detail. I felt like I was watching the story unfold line by line and page by page.  The Western theme aspect to the novel added a nice country flavor to the plot. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a mystery merged with forgiveness, healing, love, and overcoming pain. Major life lessons are woven into the concept of an appealing debut book in the series. I can’t wait to dig deeper into the inscrutability of Lizzie and the new challenges that are awaiting her in the next Road to Kingdom adventure! If you’re looking for a suspenseful packed novel then I highly recommend this novel!





“I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity Group/ Bethany House for this review”.




If you would like to purchase a copy of Inescapable check it out on Amazon.com:




About Inescapable:


<><><><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><><><><><>

Page-Turning Romantic Suspense Set Against the Backdrop of a Small Mennonite Town

Lizzie Engel is used to running away. At eighteen, she left her Mennonite hometown, her family, and her faith with plans never to return. Five years later, Lizzie finds she'll have to run again. False accusations at her job, a stalker, and a string of anonymous threatening letters have left her with no other options. This time, however, her escape is back to Kingdom, her hometown.

As Lizzie becomes reacquainted with Kingdom, she realizes she may not have left her Mennonite roots and her faith as firmly in the past as she thought.


She draws on the support of Noah Housler, an old friend, as she hides out and attempts to plan her next steps.

When it becomes painfully clear that the danger has followed Lizzie to Kingdom, suspicions and tensions run high, and she no longer knows who to trust. With her life and the lives of those she loves at risk, Lizzie will have to run one last time--to a Father whose love is inescapable.



{About Nancy}


<><><><><><><><><><><><> <><><><><><>

Nancy Mehl, the author of 13 books, received an ACFW Carol Award in 2009 for her novel For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls. She has a background in social work and is a member of ACFW and RWA.

She writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their puggle, Watson.

Visit her website at www.nancymehl.com.

Win a Handmade Mennonite Quilt from @NancyMehl! RSVP for her INESCAPABLE Facebook Party 7/26! Celebrate with Nancy by entering her "Inescapable" Giveaway and connecting with her during the Author Chat Party on 7/26!

Find out what readers are saying here.


One winner will receive:
  • A Handmade Mennonite Quilt
  • A copy of Inescapable by Nancy Mehl
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on July 25th. Winner will be announced at the "Inescapable" Author Chat Facebook Party on 7/26. Nancy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills (how much do you know about the Mennonites?) and giving away some great prizes!


So grab your copy of Inescapable and join Nancy on the evening of the July 26th for a chance to connect with Nancy and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)

Enter via E-mail Enter via FacebookEnter via Twitter

Don't miss a moment of the RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 26th!



Book Trailer:



Let It Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven By T.D. Jakes Book Review



Let It Go is written to provide enormous benefits to readers who are having trouble with forgiving offences. Offences come in petty and gigantic life alteration displayed by our actions, words, and unspoken expectations. No matter if the offences occurred as big or small, if unforgiveness consumes and plagues our hearts it will hinder our growth. Unforgiveness unchecked affects our relationship with our spouses, our children, our family members, our work environment, the ability to truly connect and fellowship with church members, and any other person we interactive with daily. We may think those around us aren't suffering from our bitterness and hurt. But our relationships need our commitment to forgive and let offences go. Bishop Jakes believed forgiveness is a "big idea" and it takes a great Eagle like thinking to forgive ourselves and others. Bishop Jakes affirmed that unforgiveness is the hidden cancer of the soul eating us alive and stopping us from living. Most people don't deal with the cancer that they can cure! We often fail to comprehend that you can't be in relationships that won't produce some conflict along the way. Disappointments, hurts, offences will happen and moving through the pain and healing enable us to live.




Bishop Jakes described that most people haven't showed others the 100 percent of themselves. Most of us don't even realize that we have put up walls around our hearts. If we would let the bitterness go we would be a new person, a better spouse, a better employee, church member, pastor, and friend! Forgiving ourselves for our failures and shortcomings is the first step in experiencing freedom and extending our love out to others. The Bible says, "To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves" (Matthew 37-39) (Page 186). You can't give away forgiveness and love if you haven't received God's love and forgiveness. It's extremely vital you love and forgive the person he created! Once you have accepted his mercy, then you can extend that same forgiveness to other people who have betrayed you.



Bishop Jakes illustrated that we have four types of wounded warriors. They are the insulator, isolator, the inhibitor, and the bully. This book proved to me that I was an isolator and that I would withdraw in conflict and pain. I feared rejection that people would treat me just like the other person treated me. I thought hiding from the past experience of pain would fix the issue and protect my heart from being disappointment ever again. This book has helped me to start living free again without letting the disappointments and hurts run and control my everyday life. You have an obligation from God to love others and to forgive others, why don't you start doing it?




I would recommend getting this enriching life changing book resource and add it to your collection. This book is for anyone who is holding on to unforgiveness whether it is pain in your childhood, relationships, marriage, church, employment, or any other type of pain. This book is not for the people who can't stand to hear the truth and hate to read a message about forgiveness. Bishop Jakes doesn't hold back, you better brace yourself and be open and willing to deal with the issues and roots! This book is wrote as a how to forgive, how to move forward, and how the effects of unforgiveness can be deadly. I have personally brought into the lie that if I forgive people who have caused me heartache that they are getting away with hurting me. I thought that I was allowing them to continue in their ways without punishment. But who am I do inflict the same pain they put me through. God gets me mercy every day and I need to give them mercy. I loved how Bishop Jakes preached the truth with conviction and he included magnificent Biblical support. This book revealed so much helpful information of forgiving and moving forward with my life. I will be keeping this book close to me and I will be reading it when new offences try to make me buy into the bitterness root again. You don't have to remain stuck as a chicken and living at less than 100 percent of your true free self. An Eagle living at 100 percent captivity can be achieved for any man or woman who is willing to forgive and rise above the adversities that we encounter! This book changed my life and I pray that it changes yours too! Freedom is arriving! Are you ready?


Check out Let It Go on Bishop T.D. Jakes website:

http://tdjakes.org/letitgo/


If you would like to purchase a copy of Let It Go check it out on Amazon.com or ChristianBook.com:

My Stubborn Heart: A Novel By Becky Wade Book Review





Kate Donovan and her grandmother moved temporarily back to Pennsylvania. The grandmother wanted to restore and renovate her old house to proper living condition. Gran hired Matt Jarreau to fix the house. Matt is a man who has seen and experienced the pains and struggles of life. He married in his early twenties and was in a happily thriving marriage. Then an unimagined situation occurred that forever changed his life. He discovered that his wife had cancer. She eventually lost the battle to the disease. His grief and heartache consumed his every waking thoughts and his pain prevented him from healing and moving forward. He didn’t understand how he could live life without her. He was a former successful hockey until after his wife’s death. He decided to walk away from his destiny and his love and passion for hockey.  He stopped living and he started working and fixing old houses in the neighborhood. He became withdrawn and distance from the people who cared greatly for him. They tried so desperately to reach and help him heal. Matt has given up on God and he doesn’t comprehend how God could take away his wife. Kate became attracted to Matt and she kept falling for him. She had a special determination to get through to his walls of protection that he built. She was convicted to not let Matt remain in isolation and she wanted to him to release his burden and become whole again.



I would recommend this fantastic novel to anyone who enjoys reading a relatable story. Teenagers and adults would enjoy reading this book. The book had a vastly real life struggles and circumstances that every day people have to face through. None of us can escape the pain and heartache of losing someone we loved and cared greatly about. We sometimes go through the stages of blaming God but healing comes when we let go and deal with the hurts. I loved how Kate didn’t give up and she kept trying to assist him to open up to her completely. She kept asking him questions even when he wouldn’t answer her. She wasn’t settling for letting him be rude, uncompassionate, and bitterness run through his veins. I connected with Matt and how he became a loner when life dealt him the excruciating pain of losing his wife. It’s important we look out for the needs of others and show them Christ so that the world can experience wholeness and freedom!



“I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Publishers book review bloggers program.”  



If you would like to purchase a copy of My Stubborn Heart then check it out on Amazon.com:



Passages: How Reading the Bible in a Year Will Change Everything for You By Brian Hardin Blog Tour and Book Review



My Thoughts:



Passages were written to remind Christian believers to never forget the power and impact of studying and reading the word of God. Brian Hardin is also the founder of Daily Audio Bible. He has created a website and he has a podcast in which he reads the Bible aloud every day for a whole year. It’s has grown into a massive network of believers.  I personally will admit that I don’t read my Bible every single day. I tend to not allow enough time throughout the day to fit it in reading and meditating on my Bible. The Bible is meant to be devoured daily and applied not just when I can schedule out some time for it! The book has shown me the importance of scheduling time in reading the Bible at the beginning of the day. Putting it off doesn’t enrich my life in fact it just hinders my growth towards a deeper relationship. I realized that I have been “dating” the Lord instead of committing to an authentic personally relationship. This book will open your eyes as it has mine to the abundant life that the Lord wants you to live.



I loved how Brian Hardin was transparent and he openly revealed that when he read the Bible for a whole year his life started truly changing. He felt more peaceful, hopeful, passionate, and joyful in his life. One aspect, he believed readers of the Bible aren’t doing enough of is reading the word in context. They are picking and choosing the verses and they are not receiving the whole picture. But the story reveals the background of how everything was created to be. He also described one way many believers choose what to read in the Bible. How many of us haven’t at some point flipped through the Bible and tried to land our finger on the verse or chapter, we thought God wanted us to read?  I will testify that I have done this very thing many different times when I was looking and longing for encouragement or a word from the Lord. But what happens when your finger comes across the verse like Matthew 27:5. The verse says,” And Judas went away and hanged himself.” Where is the inspiring and enlightenment of that? Hardin’s point was how does that assist you if you don’t know the whole story behind the hanging. I immensely enjoyed the encouragement and the motivation Hardin displayed in order to convince readers to make the time to grasp the whole picture of the Gospel.  Reading the whole Bible through story by story impacts and changes your life in a greater way!



I liked how the book contained three different helpful daily reading plans, “The Daily Audio Bible Reading Plan”,  “The Chronological Bible in a Year”, and “The Historical Bible in a Year”, to convey the magnitude and the power of reading the Bible on a daily basis. This book will help you to notice and see the importance of reading your Bible daily. I have decided that this is something that I am going to start to committing to do. Will you be joining me?



"I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity Group/ Zondervan for this review".



If you would like to purchase a copy of Passages check it out on Amazon.com:




 From Litfuse:

We're thrilled to offer these excellent resources from Zondervan and Brian Hardin. Brian's unique approach to reading the Bible makes doing so accessible no matter your lifestyle. In Passages he delves into why reading the Bible changes our lives, our hearts, our futures. Then Brian invites you to join him on a Bible reading journey as he reads through the Bible, shares a devotion and offers commentary on his Daily Audio Bible Podcasts. (Available in a Kids Edition and in Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, and Chinese.) Designed to fit your lifestyle, the the podcasts can be listened to online or downloaded from iTunes for free. Or grab the DAB phone app. Listen while in the car, while doing chores around the house, while working, or in your quiet time. Daily Audio Bible goes where you go. Start January first or on any day of the year. And be sure to join the exciting DAB community!

John Eldredge, Author of Wild at Heart, Love and War and Beautiful Outlaw had this to say about Passages:
I told Brian I'd read his book as a favor. But in Chapter One I got caught. This is a beautiful book -- human, sensitive, funny, well-written, and deeply spiritual. It answered questions I didn't even know I had. I'm longing fore the Bible to take a richer place in my life. Anyhow, read it. You'd be glad you did. Really.

{More about Passages}

How Reading the Bible in a Year will Change Everything For You
Many Christians feel guilty when they think of reading the Bible. Though they want to love reading Scripture, they rarely have time for more than a few verses on the run. But the Bible is not meant to be a burden. It is the story of God’s passionate love for His children. It is also not a book of mystical incantations. It is a best friend offering counsel and companionship. And it is not a distant relic, but something very near. Near enough, in fact, to be every reader’s story.
 

So how do Christians delight in this story rather than see it as a source of failure? The founder of the immensely popular Daily Audio Bible, Brian Hardin shows readers how reading through the Bible in a year will change their life and the lives of others. Passages shows readers how to read the Bible and offers practical ideas for immersing themselves in God’s life-giving words. Here readers will discover that reading the Bible can be a breathtaking adventure.





{More about the Daily Audio Bible}

Daily Bible Reading and Devotion!

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Vision Statement: Our ultimate goal is to provide the spoken Word of God to as many people as will listen in every region of the world that God will allow using whatever means God will allow for as long as God will allow. To be people of the Scriptures, fervent in prayer and having a daily and intimate walk with God. To build stable and Christ honoring community as we take our place in the global advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Mission Statement: The Daily Audio Bible is committed to guiding Christian's worldwide into an intimate and daily friendship with the Bible. This is accomplished by providing the spoken Word of God freely in multiple languages and by the creation and establishment of communities that have no geographical limitations. Our efforts are devoted to exposing the rich texture and heritage of the Bible's life changing power by educating the Believer on how to engage in and interact with the ancient Scriptures in a future world.

{More about Brian Hardin}



Brian Hardin is a speaker, photographer, record producer and an ordained minister. In 2006, he created the Daily Audio Bible, an online podcast that now delivers 1.5 million downloads a month. He has produced over 150 albums and works with artists and the arts extensively. He is married to Christian musician Jill Parr.
Find out more about Brian at www.dailyaudiobible.com.




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Passages by @realbrianhardin is practical, enjoyable & a gift to those battling spiritual boredom! http://ow.ly/bJSrR @Litfuse @zondervan



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John Eldredge says Brian Hardin's Passages is a beautiful book - human,sensitive, funny, well written and deeply spiritual.  A must read. Click for details and download the Listen Now button. http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13507671/brianhardin  



Check out the Book Tour Schedule for Other Reviews:


I Don’t Get Wholeness… That’s the Problem: Making Relationships Work By Paula White Book Review


In I Don’t Get Wholeness… That’s the Problem, Paula White looks at the fundamentals of healthy relationships that we permit in our life. Paula White has had to endure and overcome the negative voices who tried to tear her down and stop her from fulfilling her destiny. Her father committed suicide when she was just five years old and she also suffered from being sexual abused by other men in her life. She learned how to start developing healthy relationships that pushed her to go further and higher. In healthy relationships, we must have the freedom to be ourselves, let others be themselves, and display the concept of letting others change and grow. The book is written to help readers to achieve wholeness first and to receive what God declares about us. If you’re not whole, then your relationships won’t be whole and healthy either. It’s vital that we stop looking for outside sources to repair the inner issues. She also explored three ways to break generational curses that have been placed by previous generations. Nine keys to healthy relationships were included in this book to demonstrate what wholeness actually looks like.



Some of my favorite quotes are:

“If I am going to change my behavior, I have to change my beliefs” (Page 32).



“If you don’t acknowledge the inaccurate message in your life, you cannot defeat it” (Page 75).



“When God wants to bless you, He sends a person into your life. When Satan wants to mess you up, he sends a person into your life” (Page 91).



“You cannot conquer what you don’t confront, and you cannot confront what you don’t identify” (Page 107).



I would recommend this life enlightening book to anyone struggling to form healthy relationships. This book showed readers how to identity dysfunctional family patterns and relationships. I found that I have to state my expectations when I enter into relationships. I realized that one of the reasons is because I fear being let down and disappointed. The book revealed that I have trouble receiving compliments but it’s ironic if they speak something negative, I receive it as truth! This book was extremely helpful in exposing many of the lies that I have believed and I realized that I have to replace the lies with the truth of God’s Word. Strongholds were broken when I started standing and rejecting the lies! The generational curses chapter assisted me in stopping the curses from repeating. The book enclosed tons of scriptures to breaking the past curses from my forefathers. Blessing can actually be released! If you’re longing to be completely whole in your relationships then this book will be a huge benefit in helping you obtain wholeness! I loved how Paula White isn’t a preacher and an author who tells you what you want to hear! She isn’t afraid to confront the dysfunctional issues and she speaks the truth that we desperately don’t need sugarcoated or downplayed. If this astonishing book is applied it can truly change the structure of your relationships! Healthy relationships will be established.





If you would like to purchase a copy of I Don’t Get Wholeness… That’s the Problem then check it out on Amazon.com:

  

Who Switched Off Your Brain? : Solving the Mystery of He Said/She Said By Dr. Caroline Leaf Book Review


In Who Switched Off Your Brain? , Dr. Caroline Leaf has thoroughly researched the differences and similarities of men and women. She is a neuroscientist who studies the brain many different functions. In this book here are some different things you will learn: As a society, we think that women tend to speak more words daily than men but according to studies conducted men and women speak nearly the same amount of words daily. It greatly depends on our unique “I-Factor”, which differs from each individual person that God has designed each one of us to be. Men have to focus on one subject, conversation, or task at a time. Women are able to multitask and handle doing many different tasks and conversation topics at a time. Men at the end of the day have to have space to process and relief their stressful emotions. Women have to talk to release their stress and their emotions. Dr. Leaf proved her point about men and women are meant to complement each other. No one gender is better than the other. The important thing is to be there for each other in their needs.  This book can help you to recognize and understand each other more fully.



I would recommend this magnificent book to readers that are struggling with connecting with the opposite sex. This book will improve your relationships with your spouses, parents, children, bosses, family members, friends, and strangers.  You will see and learn how science has supported with tons of research and revealed the truths of how much we desperately need each gender. I immensely enjoyed how Dr. Leaf is a Christian Scientist and this book had many scriptures and that she also used science to reinstate her beliefs. Many researchers have established evidence for what the Bible has already clearly publicized! This is an awesome thing! The book has helped me to learn that my wife wants and needs me to show affection and empathy when she is talking and sharing a piece of her soul. The book contained diagrams of the brain structure and they are really enlightening in displaying the information. If you want help in any area of your relationships then read this amazing life changing book! Your relationships will vastly improve if these principles are set into place!





If you would like to purchase a copy of Who Switched Off Your Brain? then check it out on Amazon.com:





You Are Made for More: How to Become All You Were Created to Be By Lisa Osteen Comes Book Review


You Are Made for More is an inspiring book written by Lisa Osteen Comes. Lisa Osteen Comes is Joel Osteen’s sister and she is also associate pastor at Lakewood Church. Her book covers twelve chapters to remind readers that they are made for more. The book revealed you are made a masterpiece, to hope, to live your dreams, to rise above other’s expectations, to keep on, and so much more. We don’t just have to live a less than life we can live an abundant life and run our own race!



Lisa Osteen Comes has had to practice endurance and she had to make a choice to never give up when life threw curve balls and challenges at her. When Lisa was born she couldn’t walk or talk and the doctors placed a limit and a label on her life. They told her parents that she would never be able to walk or talk and that they would have to take care of her for the rest of their lives.  They said she had cerebral palsy and they couldn’t do anything to help her overcome the diagnosis. But God healed her and now she is a speaker and she walks perfectly fine now! Satan couldn’t stop her from fulfilling her destiny. In her childhood, she had to choose to not dwell on negative words her classmates spoke over her. She was shinny and they called her Olive Oyl from Popeye. She started accepting the negative words and she started to believe them. The pain of those negative words led her into looking at who God has said she was. God has declared that she is blessed, gifted, loved, and so much more!  But the magnificent news is that he says the same thing about you!



She had to deal with the pains of an unwanted divorce and she had to learn how to heal and recover. Discouragement threatened to escort her into a pit of depression and anxiety consumed her thoughts. She worried about being label as divorced and she thought people would reject her. She didn’t understand why her ex-husband wanted a divorce. She ultimately saw that God restored her and she started encouraging others who were going through a divorce.



The book also enclosed breathtaking details about a mail bomb explosion that could have taken her life, how God led her new husband to her, and how they dealt with infertility.



I would recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with addictions, negative self-esteem issues, limits and words people have placed on you, going through a divorce, living a life of fear and worry, having trouble with forgiving others or yourself, healing from life’s pains, in a pit of depression, and anyone who doesn’t believe they can overcome and step into their destiny. The book is extremely helpful in guiding readers to believing the truth that God has an enormous plan and purpose for their life. Your life doesn’t have to be filled with discouragement and limits. I have struggled with pessimistic thoughts and limits others have positioned on me and told me who I was supposed to be. I was told all kind of things that didn’t uplift me and their words didn’t line up what God said. This book has assisted me with the knowledge of relabeling myself with positive words from the Bible.



One of the stories that Lisa Osteen Comes included was a story about her friend, Damon. When Damon was a teenager his father left his mother and abandoned him.  Damon decided to grab a gun and end his life. He pulled the gun trigger and the gun that was loaded with bullets wouldn’t fire. His mother told him about how God caused the gun to not fire and she reminded Damon that he had an awesome future ahead of him. Others labeled him as a trouble maker and people said he would end up in prison. He almost became what he believed was in his future. One night he was involved in a shooting when people started fighting each other. He fired shots that hit two people. Cops were called and he fled the commotion. He prayed to God the he would spare him and he said he would serve him if he got out of this situation. Damon finally saw that he become what others stated him to be. He accepted the labels when he should have rejected them. God changed his life and redeemed him. He started to reach out to young teenagers and inmates and help them re-change their labels that were spoken over them. This story showed the importance of removing the negative labels and limits others have put on us. We can literally curse ourselves and let others define us or we can choose to believe what God says!



Lisa Osteen Comes has a way of teaching the principles of the word of God to let readers know they are made for more. This book was a huge encouragement for me to receive all that God has for me. This book is one that everyone should read to benefit from and learn about your amazing destiny and future that God has for you. I immensely enjoyed all of the scriptures and Bible stories that Lisa made to prove her point! This book has radically changed my perspective and had encouraged me to become everything I was made to be! I was made for more! You are made for more! Believe it and receive it!

 
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